puppy food - Page 1

We have a 10 week old GSD who gets dry puppy food. I have started him on Purina ONE puppy chow, since this was all the GSD we had before, ate. I mix it with regular Purina puppy chow. My vet recommended to feed him puppy food for large dogs and I checked out Solid Gold Wolfcub large breed puppy food. I checked the board and there is no report on that food. Any recommondations or suggestions? Also, when he is in the backyard, he eats rocks, sand, wood chips, bark, all he can find. is this normal or is there something missing in his diet? He has gained about 6 pounds in two weeks, so I don't think he is growing too fast, but then I'm not an expert. The GSD we had before died when he was only 10 1/2 and I just try to do everything right with this puppy. thanks for your help, Margarete

Margarete, I can only recommend what I have successfully fed. Royal Canin Large-Breed Puppy and Royal Canin GSD 24 Maxi, followed by Bil-Jac Select Large Breed Puppy and Bil-Jac Select Large Breed Adult. In the past five (5) years I have used no other foods, so I cannot advise you further. I am sure than in years past I did at least occassionally use Purina large breed puppy, but I cannot remember. The most important thing for a GSD puppy is a growth rate that is slow and controlled through proper diet. I am sorry to hear of your loss, but it is not uncommon for a GSD to only live to be ten-and-one-half (10 1/2) years old or less. We wish they would last forever. Bob-O

Puppies are alot like little kids, always looking for something to get in trouble with :0), and always putting things in their mouth that they shouldn't. IMO you should try to monitor him eating the rocks, sand wood chips etc. He might get a rock down that will be to big to pass out the other way. As for puppy food I am not sure as I have been feeding RAW for awhile but I do ad some Canidae once in awhile. It is recommended for all stages of a dogs life. Their theory is in the wild puppies don't get any special diet they usually just eat more while they are growing. I too am sorry for your loss, some things in life are just not fair...

thanks for your advice, I will check out Royal Canine and Bil-Jac. I have a sample of the Solid Gold and it claims to have no by-products, just bison and salmon and he loves the kibbles I give him as rewards. But then he is not picky at all. I just want him to grow slow and steady. I try to monitor him when he is outside but that doesn't always work as he runs away after he picks something up, he knows that I will take it out of his mouth when I catch him. He is very smart and figures things out very quick and he is also very curious too. He mostly chews on sticks and bark, and then of course sand and rabbit poop. We live in Nevada and have lots of cottontails running around in our backyard. He hasn't seen them yet and I don't even know what he will do when he sees them. He hasn't been getting sick or had loose stools. He is so different from our other dog, not only in color, but also in temperament and behaviour. I still miss our old dog and I don't know if I ever get over missing him and it has been over 2 years. But we sure love the new guy, he is just such a bundle of energy and mischief. thanks again, Margarete

The solid gold, Wolf Cub is excellent ! Solid gold is very good about "steady" supply. Meaning that they have contracts as to who they buy product from, So the consistency is superb. I have a friend who is a distributor and has filled me in on all the details. We will when we can not get Diamond, use the wolf cub in place of it. We actually blend several feeds together, as often in our area some feeds are unavailable, blending them keeps tummy's from getting upset due to changes that sometimes occur when a specific feed is unavailable here. Good Luck, But yes I would reccomend Solid Gold.

I tried to post this earlier, but for some reason my post wouldnt come up. How to grade your dog's food: Start with a grade of 100: 1) For every listing of "by-product" , subtract 10 points 2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points 3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points 4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points 5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (I.e. "ground brown rice", "brewers rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points 6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points 7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points 8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3points 9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points 10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points 11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points 12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points 13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points 14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point 15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point Extra Credit: 1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points 2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points 3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points 4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points 5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points 6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points 7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points 8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points 9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points 10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point 11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point 12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point 13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point 14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point Score: 94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69 and below = F Here are some foods that have already been scored. Dog Food scores: Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+ Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F Canidae / Score 112 A+ Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+ Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+ Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+ Foundations / Score 106 A+ Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D Innova Dog / Score 114 A+ Innova Evo / Score 114 A+ Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+ Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+ Purina Beneful / Score 17 F Purina Dog / Score 62 F Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+ Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+ Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+ Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A